by Robert Low
There could be no better way of Orm and the Oathsworn gaining legendary fame than following in the footsteps of Hercules and taking on the Amazons – and I just plain liked the idea of Attila’s most faithful warriors being women.
The intent of this story was to create the ‘fair fame’ of the Oathsworn, so great that it stood as a monument to Odin and served as one small check to the tide of Christianity sweeping across the north at this time.
Well, if you want to have a Dark Age northern hero at least as famous as Beowulf, then you need a Dark Age enemy at least as monstrous as Grendel. However, I had always been struck by the saga of Beowulf and Grendel and had difficulty in deciding who was the true monster of the tale – Beowulf, the human who slaughtered both Grendel and his mother, or the monstrously-shaped mum and son, who seemed to have been relegated to the realms of evil demons, yet somehow engender a deal of pity.
Scotland has its own monstrous myths, none more chilling than changelings and elf-shot babies. Many of such tales are now thought to be excuses for child-murder, even as late as the nineteenth century. It is easier to be rid of a strangely-diseased and unwanted baby if you claim it has been swapped for your perfectly good one and is inherently evil.
Tales of fishskinned bairns and scaled changelings take on a new meaning in the light of an affliction which has haunted the ages – and, sadly, is still with us – known as ichthyosis. A genetic condition, it causes the skin to keratinize and scale, like nails, all over the body and the tightening that results sometimes deforms the face. The worst form of it, Harelequin Ichthyosis, is a truly distressing disease and babies who suffer from it rarely survive forty-eight hours. It is exactly as I describe it here and the sight of such a newborn would break your heart.
Of course, people so afflicted are no different from the rest of us, appearances apart, and it seemed right to me that such a nest of seeming monsters would have more family feeling and humanity than the healthy people who sent Orm to kill such feared ‘were-dragons’. The legend, as it always does, swallows the shame of such an act.
Finally, there is the runestone, preferred method of leaving your name and deeds to posterity. The range and number of runic inscriptions during the Iron and Viking Ages is impressive, from the Black Sea to Greenland, from Man to Athens. Iceland has few, Denmark has about 500, Norway has around 750 – but Sweden has some 3000 and one-third of them are from the province of Uppland.
Best known is the Rok Stone, a ninth-century memorial block found in Östergötland, Sweden. Carved in granite to commemorate a lost son, it has the longest runic inscription known – 725 runes of legible text which scholars still argue over. It is full of secret formulas, lost allusions, verses of epic character and a poetic vocabulary which showed, to me at any rate, that the composer, Varinn by name, was a Norse Shakespeare.
I thought the Oathsworn deserved no less a memorial.
As ever, this is best told round a fire in the darkness. Any mistakes or omissions are my own and should not spoil the tale.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Top of the list of people who made this book a reality are the Oathsworn – all the crew of Glasgow Vikings (www.glasgowvikings.co.uk) who are now a seasoned crew and quite proud to be sailing the Fjord Elk. Thanks also to the rest of The Vikings re-enactment group (www.vikingsonline.org.uk) who continue to strike fear into publicans and provide entertainment and education to an astounded public.
None of which would matter if James Gill, my agent at United Agents, had not spotted the potential in this – full marks to him – and especially to Clare Hey, my editor at HarperCollins, who had the unfortunate horror of getting me as one of her first trials in the role. She made The White Raven better than it was, while the Glasgow end of the HarperCollins team, Marie Goldie and her girls, not only make book signings a joy but contrive to make me feel like a celeb while doing it. More power to their archive.
If you enjoyed this ebundle, try the next book in Robert Low’s THE OATHSWORN SERIES, The Prow Beast
The Oathsworn have become feared and respected throughout the Viking world. Their name goes before them and men cower in their presence. But fame comes at a price…
While the Oathsworn revel in their newfound fame, Sterki, an old enemy with revenge in his heart, attacks their homestead - the Fjord Elk is sunk, old oarmates die and the Oathsworn are forced to flee into the mountains.
Unused to losing, the Oathsworn retreat to lick their wounds. They have been entrusted with the care of Queen Sigrith, pregnant and soon to bear the heir to the crown of Sweden, and though the urge for revenge is strong, Orm’s first duty is to protect the queen. And Orm soon realises that revenge is not the only thing on Sterki’s mind; he has joined forces with Styrbjorn, nephew of King Eirik and next in line to the throne if he can only get rid of the current heir.
As the Oathsworn fight to defend themselves and their newfound celebrity and fortune, they’re soon to realise that fame isn’t all it’s cracked up to be…
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If you enjoyed this ebundle, try Robert Low’s THE KINGDOM SERIES, the first book of which is The Lion Wakes
It is 1296 and Scotland is in turmoil. The old King, Alexander III, has died after falling off his horse one dark and stormy night. Scotland’s future is in peril. Edward I of England, desperate to keep control of his northern borders, arranges for John Baliol, a weak man who Edward knows he can manipulate, to take leadership of Scotland.
But unrest is rife and many are determined to throw off the shackles of England. Among those men is Robert the Bruce, darkly handsome, young, angry and obsessed by his desire to win Scotland’s throne. He will fight for the freedom of the Scots until the end.
But there are many rival factions and the English are a strong and fearsome opponent. The Lion Wakes culminates in the Battle of Falkirk which proves to be the beginning of a rivalry that will last for decades…
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Robert Low has been a journalist and writer since the age of seventeen. He covered the wars in Vietnam, Sarajevo, Romania and Kosovo until common sense and the concerns of his wife and daughter prevailed.
To satisfy his craving for action, having moved to an area rich in Viking tradition, he took up re-enactment, joining The Vikings. He now spends his summers fighting furiously in helmet and mail in shieldwalls all over Britain and winters training hard. He lives in Largs, Scotland.
ALSO BY ROBERT LOW
THE OATHSWORN SERIES
The Whale Road
The Wolf Sea
The White Raven
The Prow Beast
Crowbone
THE KINGDOM SERIES
The Lion Wakes
The Lion at Bay
The Lion Rampant
COPYRIGHT
Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
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www.harpercollins.co.uk
The Whale Road First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2007
The Wolf Sea First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2008
The White Raven First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2009
Copyright © Robert Low 2014
Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2014
Cover images © Shutterstock.com
Robert Low asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of thi
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Source ISBN: 9780007370412, 9780007380558, 9780007310074
Ebook Edition © May 2014 ISBN: 9780007593484
Version: 2014-04-30
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